first cruise...

[loving life]

Hi Folks,

 

After perusing the site, I see that there are quite a few regular cruisers here (lucky you!). Will I have the pleasure of meeting any of you November 27 SD1?

 

Can someone tell me (assure me) about the weather down south at the end of November?

 

And for a first time cruiser are they any absolutely "must dos" and "do nots".

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, it's certainly making this cruise more fun already.

[voyageur]

AS a first time cruiser you've certainly chosen one of the best cruiselines... we are going on our first Seadream cruise 2 weeks before you. I've been in the southern Caribbean at the end of November and start of December and the weather is absolutely beautiful.

 

As for "must dos", and "must not dos"... don't try to do too much, just go with the flow and enjoy yourself (relax)... after seeing many ports we've decided having arranged excursions are not necessary. On a lot of the islands on your cruise November 27th it's perfectly safe to just go off to go for a walk or taxi to any specific place you'd like to see.

 

Like you we're REALLY looking forward to this cruise. We plan to spend a lot of time reading, going for walks, and just enjoying the yacht. (not to mention the champagne)

[DisneyJen]

Loving Life and Voyageur ... you both are in for a special treat on SD! DH and I are on our second sailing with SD starting Nov. 6.

 

Last year we cruise on SD the last week of Nov/first week of Dec and we had wonderful weather. Since we had visited some of the ports before we spent a lot of our time relaxing on board. We get so little down time in our real lives so it was great to read books, enjoy the scenery and recharge our batteries.

 

Make sure you take advantage of the sports marina ... what fun we had on the jet skis!

[carlylecat]

Above messages are right, you chose wisely!

 

Going to be very tough for you to taste other cruise lines after doing your first cruise with these guys. We first experienced this ship in a prevous incarnation and went on to RSSC Diamond, Crystal and SeaBourne and we will be on back on our second Sea Dream cruise this year alone over Christmas... can't even think about moving back to those large ships.

 

My best advice is don't be like my wife and pack too much or get too worked up over what to bring from a clothes perspective (oh well no one ever heeds that advice!)

 

Anyway just relax and reallly just be yourself and enjoy what is usually perfect weather in Nov/Dec.

 

If you have something you really enjoy, bring it along somehow and integrate it into your cruise. I really enjoy wine and have a great cellar at home and I usually bring three or four very special bottles with me to share on board. The crew is more than happy to serve, last trip they even tracked me down to make sure they opened my older vintages in the afternoon so they would be at perfect pitch for dinner.

 

My wife loves music and spends almost all her time with her iPod on the Balinese beds just watching the world pass by.

 

Best of all don't be intmidated by anything, ask the crew anything, they will really help...just enjoy it!

[abenaki]

First time cruiser on Sea Dream... You are doing it in style!! Unless you really like organized activities, I agree that trying to do too much, especially too many excursions, is too tiring.

 

We are beach goers, and Sea Dream packs a terrific lunchbox with whatever you want. We usually get a cab and go to a deserted beach for the day, then come back to the ship for late afternoon relaxation on the Sun Beds with a cold drink.

 

There sre terrific beaches in St John, The Baths in Virgin Gorda are for me a must do... beautiful waves and rocks. Jost Van Dyke is the beach party day, really well done by Sea Dream.

 

St Barts is unlike all of the other islands, and being French, the shopping is wonderful for unique things from France. Definately THE island to shop if you want to shop. Excellent food at many restaurants, and two beaches that we especially like. We always get off the ship and rent a car in the port, and spend the day driving. It is very hilly but an easy drive around the island with dozens and dozens of places to stop.

 

The weather is usually very good and you are avoiding some of the winter crowds

 

Enjoy it and as others have said, take advantage of the many great things that Sea Dream has to offer.

[loving life]

abenaki,

 

when you say you "rent a car in port", do you mean that you get a cab that stays with you for the day, or do you actually rent a car?

 

if you were to take a cab out to any of the beaches (secluded), how do you retrieve a cab when you want to leave if none are about?

 

does anyone know of anyone that has ever "missed the boat".

[DisneyJen]

We rented a car when we were in St. Bart's last year. We arranged it through the ship. It was a car from a rental company that we had access to all day. We drove around the island, stopped at two beaches and then returned to the ship. It was the perfect way to explore St. Barts.

 

I am too compulsive of a planner and Dh is too compulsive on time management that after 20 plus cruises we haven't missed the ship ... knocking on wood of course:D

[loving life]

do we have to bring beach towels?

[ctbjr1309]

do we have to bring beach towels?

 

No, they have plenty on the ship.

[DisneyJen]

Goodness no!!! You will have a bountiful supply of fresh towels ... in you stateroom, at the Balinese beds, when you go to the beach!

 

Not to worry about towels!

[abenaki]

St Barts is the best island to drive on. First time we rented a car through the ship, but for half the price you can just walk into the port and rent your own car.

 

Other islands we take a cab. I have usually done some beach research on the web and know more or less where I want to go to swim. The taxi drives will always some back and pick you up at the time you set. We have never had a problem and tip accordingly.

 

If there ends up beinng an interesting restaurant, we give the picnic basket to someone who needs it ( always easy to find) and enjoy the restaurant.

 

Another great thing to do on the ship is to eat by yourselves outside in the restaurant on the top of the ship when the other passengers are downstairs. You have the yacht to yourselves.

 

And if you are adventurous types, have the stewards make up a bed for you under the stars one night.

[frequent traveler]

:)

 

If your cruise is fully booked -- the spa fills up fast -- we had the best luck when we booked our treatments right after boarding.

 

If you like to snorkel -- take your own gear --we had two different experiences -- on our first Sea Dream cruise -- the free on board equipment was only made available once - on Jost Van Dyke (where, next to Baths,

the walk in off the beach snorkeling was the best of all the beaches). On the second Sea Dream cruise, our activities director (James - does anyone know if he's coming back (or has come back) after his lovely daughter was born?) retrieved anytime anyone let him know they wanted to take in beach.

 

On St. Barts we too rented a car each time -- allowed my husband to shop in almost every village on the island while we also visited 4 or 5 different beaches. Its much cheaper than the taxis on this particualr island. On the rest, public transportation is much cheaper and always available. On St. Martin, a few couples (at least the husbands of these couples) did not want to leave Orient Beach with the rest of the group - so they split away and rented their own car at a local stand at the beach.

 

SABA is quite interesting -- everyone wanted to go on shore on the organized activities -- so ALL 6 or 8 of the island's vans/taxis were reserved for the Sea Dream excursions (great lace sold by the women of the island at a church up in the mountain, we bought an exquisite hand made table cloth). But several people didn't want to go in a "group" and had to walk or hitch rides (they were forewarned by the activities director) since all the taxis were otherwise occupied. On Saba -- don't go with a hangover, or if you get carsick take Dramamine -- the roads are quite narrow and twisty - many were originally made by hand (great stories by the locals).

 

If you haven't tried it before -- on Saba, you can get Ting (a grapefruit flavored soda from Jamaica) which I can not find anyhere in the North Carolina city in which we live.

 

l am a schedule driven person -- so it always takes me a couple of days to adjust to "island time" off the boat -- luckily, you don't run into too many "ugly Yankees" on board the Sea Dream (meaning "rude Americans", as opposed to "appearance challenged non-Southerners"). Don't sweat the small stuff - such as an unairconditioned cab for a 10 minute ride -- just roll down the windows (several almost ejected a couple halfway up the mountain on Nevis -- they couldn't stop complaining about the heat, the delays, the walk, etc - since we were hiking the Rain Forest, my usual way of ignoring -- heading to the bar wasn't available) and enjoy the great people and places.

 

I've decided I don't vacation to get away from work -- I work to afford vacation -- so just have fun and post a review when you return.

 

FT :D

[DisneyJen]

Now now FT:p I am one of those "Damned Yankees" you Southerners talk about:p :D :p You know ... relocated to NC from PA:D

[loving life]

Now that's a great way to look at it. I too think I work to afford vacation. I certainly couldn't cruise Sea Dream for months at a time without putting in a good effort at home first! With so many vacations in the recent past, the moment I leave work I basically fall asleep for 3 days, so all this info about the islands and what to do on them may be moot. I might just sign up for a Balinese Bed. In fact, all this potential activity is quite exciting. I am a seasoned single location week-long traveler where it is the same beach chair day after day. I'll do more research. We found great air on Delta from Toronto-Atlanta-St. Thomas, St. Maarten-Atlanta-Toronto. Are they any "great" little places to stay on St. Thomas? My husband and I are mid-30's, will that make us the youngest "non-children" on the ship? I like to hit the sheets by midnight latest, we're certainly low-key enough for the crowd.

It turned cold here in Toronto today. Grey and rainy... can't help but think about this cruise, a lot!

:)

[frequent traveler]

Loving Life -

 

Unlike mass market cruises - there's a good chance you won't be the youngest "grown-ups" on board (I'm in my 40's and still haven't made it to the grown-up phase). With the activity level, the Sea Dream crowd seems to be younger than a lot of other lines. Especially since there is no "at sea" days. On our 2nd cruise there was a recent college graduate traveling with her very young and active mother plus several couples in their 20s.

 

I'm typically up at 6:30 a.m. or so to enjoy the sunrise and early morning arrival at a port and fast asleep by ten or 11. My husband is a night owl and we have no problems with our different schedules on the Sea Dream.

 

The Sea Dream has become my husband's and mine top vacation choice (normally, I find a wonderful isolated Caribbean or Hawaiian beach, preferrably a Four Seasons resort, and stay there for a week while my husband complains of boredom after a couple of days).

 

FT

[DisneyJen]

We received some very sage advice from an "older" couple when we were on our honeymoon many moons ago ... We always set aside a certain percentage of our earnings to spend on vacation.

 

We are in our early 40s and we were quite comfortable with the mix in terms of age.

 

DH travels internationally and nationally quite a bit so he loves the downtime. I keep the home fires burning for DD ... and I do some consulting work as well ... so we are early risers and early to bed. Although we have been known to close down the Top of The Yacht Bar:D

[abenaki]

If you are looking for a small hotel with lots of character, not on the beach however, look at the Hotel 1829. For a directly on the beach location try Morningstar, however it is not a small charming hotel but the location is great.

[loving life]

Our travel agent has recommended Galleon House (old town/downtown) or Mafolie (up on a big hill). Fancy would be fine, but not necessary. Any idea about these two? Did I mention we would be arriving the day before boarding.

[ctbjr1309]

:)

 

On the second Sea Dream cruise, our activities director (James - does anyone know if he's coming back (or has come back) after his lovely daughter was born?) retrieved anytime anyone let him know they wanted to take in beach.

 

 

FT - Just a quick note to let you know that as of today James has not returned to SD 1 and I understand the current rumor on board to be that he will not return.

[frequent traveler]

Thanks CTBJR

When we cruised with James in April he indicated that he didn't think he would be returning but since SD included an article about him and his family in the most recent mailing we received, I thought things might have changed.

FT

[ctbjr1309]

When we cruised with James in April he indicated that he didn't think he would be returning but since SD included an article about him and his family in the most recent mailing we received, I thought things might have changed.

FT

 

I had the same thought when I saw the mailing. Now, I wonder if that was a subtle effort on the part of SD to help James make up his mind return to SD. If he doesn't return, he'll be missed. He was great. His replacement, Linda Mueller, is quite knowledgeable as well. We enjoyed being with her on our last SD cruise in July.

[wulicny]

Our travel agent has recommended Galleon House (old town/downtown) or Mafolie (up on a big hill). Fancy would be fine, but not necessary. Any idea about these two? Did I mention we would be arriving the day before boarding.

 

We are staying one night at the Crystal Palace in Charlotte Amalie. I have heard only good things about this B&B in town. I'll give a full report when I return home after Thanksgiving.

[Dream Vacationer]

For renting cars, is it easy to rent a car on St. Martin or St. John. Or would you recommend taking taxis? I know it is easy to drive on St. Martin, but what about on St. John, where you have to drive on the wrong side of the road? Anybody, have any favorite beaches on Nevis or places to go on Saba? I have been reading about both of these islands, but would love the opinion of someone who has been there on SD. Also, I would secound the opinion of whoever suggested renting a car on St. Barts. Though I was not on SD at the time, it is easy to drive around the island (though I would not suggest getting a car with a manual transmission there unless you are completely comfortable with it, since with all of the hills on St. Barts, it is not a good place to learn). But there a lots of great beaches and this way you can discover your own favorite. Some of the nicest beaches though have no shade or shops, so don't forget the suntan lotion and bring lots of water or could drinks. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[DisneyJen]

Dream Vacationer ... it is very easy to rent a car on St. John. We have done it many times as we usually rent a villa on St. John for a week when we are not sailing. There is a place right in the center of Cruz Bay, within walking distance of the landing where SD drops off passengers.

 

Driving on the wrong side of the road for us Yanks does take some getting used to:p

 

Taxis are great as well since St. John is such a small island.

 

You will have a wonderful time in St. John!

[loving life]

wulicny,

which cruise will you be on? the week before nov 27 sd1?

i'll find out tomorrow which hotel we're booked at and will post a review upon return.